Ramon Julian, Kim Win First Leg of Lead World Cup

By Climbing Staff

7/23/13 - Spain's Ramón Julian Puigblanque and South Korea's Jain Kim took top honors at 2013's first Lead World Cup in Briançon, France, on July 20.

Slovenian climber Mina Markovic actually led the women going into finals, with Kim trailing in sixth place. But Kim turned it around in finals to become the only woman to top out the route; she pushed Markovic down to second place. Hélène Janicot, Dinara Fakhritdinova, and Charlotte Durif all reached the same finishing hold.

It was a similar story in the men's division: Japan's Sachi Amma was first going into finals, with Ramón Julian lagging behind in fifth place. None of the males topped out, but Ramón Julian reached just slightly higher than second-place finisher Amma.

The U.S. had no representatives in Briançon, but two Canadians, Elan Jonas-MacRae and Ryder Hoy, competed, finishing 40th and 45th, respectively.

The next Lead World Cup takes place in Imst, Austria, on August 9 and 10, where Canada's Sean McColl will be competing.